Beit Yeshua observed its 10th annual Pesach/Passover Seder on
Friday, April 22, 2011, in the Family Life Center at Covenant
Bible Church. The facility was packed with a maximum crowd
of 200 as family and friends from neighboring congregations,
fellowships and churches joined with Beit Yeshua.
Set-Up on Thursday Night
The set-up crew from Beit Yeshua arrived at 6:30 on Thursday
night
High and Low tables were set up - as well as chairs
Logan Ware places table cloths
on the tables
Seder plates & other implements, as well as glasses for the
4-cups of wine/grape juice were added
Saucers & napkins were placed on the tables for reciting the
plagues
Matzah trays, as well as name-place-cards, were added to all the
tables
Candles, matches and broom-straw were added to selective tables
Flags, banners, Jerusalem mural and other decorations were added
[Todah Rabah (Thanks) to
those of you who helped with set-up and clean-up afterwards]
Friday Night Pesach/Passover Seder
Final preparations are made and guests begin
to arrive
Doug & Curtis greet Cathy (Highway to Zion) and Patti
Roger & Jinnie introduce Slavic & Mariya and several of their
Romania friends
that they had invited to the Seder
Roger & Stela, Jinnie with Slavic & Mariya, Daniela, Kristina &
David, Alex, Anatol and Ala
Myrl spends some time talking with Rob, Hollyn & Ian - a family
from Covenant
Rev. C. L. Simmons, along with Wendi, Hannah, Charity, Dody,
Jerry & Dalrene,
joined us from Longview Church of God
We
were again pleased to have so many of our friends from Highway
to Zion join with us
Iline adds parsley to the Seder plate as Ambrosia, Sarah, Steven
and Joan watch
Judy, Francie, Paul, Dag, John Wayne, Chandradai, (Cheryl) & Bob
Marcia, Susan, Carolee, Merryl, Chuck & Stacy
(Left) Pastor
Eric Reel of Freedom Church in Lincolnton Church always brings a
group of
students from the Old Testament class he teaches at Gaston
College in Lincolnton, NC
(Right) Curtis, Wayne & Chuck
Shofarot are sounded as the evening activities begin
Curtis welcomed everyone
The lady Machol Dancers dance the Israeli Folk Dance "Sheleg Al
Iri"
to the song "Psalms of Praise" by Billy Whitman
A
time of Praise, Worship & Israeli Folk Dance for the entire
crowd
Singing & Dancing to "He Shall Reign" by Paul Wilbur
Men, women, boys, girls and teens join together to worship the
LORD
Just like King Davie, even Pastor Eric & Pastor C.L. joined in
the worship & dancing
Paul shows Ian how to blow the shofar
Everyone is seated and the Pesach Seder begins
To see a video of the beginning of the
Seder
CLICK HERE
"Seder" means "the order"
A Seder
is a ceremonial dinner that commemorates the Jews' Exodus from
Egypt and
includes the reading of the Haggadah and the eating of symbolic
foods
"Haggadah"
means "the telling" and refers to the part of the ceremony
where the story of the Israelites deliverance from Egypt is
re-told
Susan
leads the ladies as the festival candles are lit
Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe,
Who has set up apart by His Word, and in whose Name we light the
festival lights.
At
Passover, we celebrate these promises of redemption and
relationship
by drinking from our cups four times
The First Cup - the Cup of Sanctification
During Passover we
celebrate our freedom from the world and sin
The Blessing Over the Wine/Grape Juice
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheynu Melech ha’olam borey pri hagafen.
Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who
created the fruit of the vine.
The first cup is drunk
You
wash your hands during Passover
because you are a priest before Yahweh and the table before you
is His altar.
Who
shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in
His holy Place?
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart. (Psalm 24:3-4)
The water bowls & towels are passed
Passover is a holiday that comes in the springtime, when the
earth is becoming green with life. This vegetable, called
karpas, represents life, created and sustained by Almighty God.
Life in Egypt for the children of Israel was a life of pain,
suffering, and tears, represented by this salt water. Let us
take a sprig of parsley and dip it into the salt water,
remembering that life is sometimes immersed in tears.
To see a video of some of the ladies
dipping their parsley into salt water
On all other nights we eat bread with
leaven, but on Passover we eat only matzah, unleavened bread.
The scriptures teach us that
leaven symbolizes sin.
The matzah is explained
These three matzot are wrapped together
for Passover
In the matzah we can see a picture of
Messiah. It is striped and pierced.
The middle piece
of the bread is broken. One half is called the Afikomen or
dessert. It is wrapped in a white cloth just as Messiah’s body
was wrapped in a white cloth for burial. The Afikomen is hidden
away during the Seder (just like Messiah was wrapped for burial
and placed in a tomb), but it will return at the end of the Seder
(just as Messiah will come again - for His Bride).
The
middle matzah is broken and half is wrapped in a white cloth and
hidden
On all other nights we
eat all kinds of vegetables, but on Passover we eat only maror,
bitter herbs.
The maror (bitter herbs - horseradish) is scooped onto the
matzah and tasted
The Second Cup - the Cup of Plagues
Blood, Frogs, Lice, Beast, Cattle Disease, Boils, Hail, Locust,
Darkness, Death of the Firstborn
To see a video of some dipping their finger
in the wine/juice and reciting the plagues
CLICK HERE
Breaking for the covered-dish Passover meal
Wane and Paul fellowship
After the meal, the Seder resumes and the Afikomen is "ransomed"
Jude receives a "reward" for finding the hidden Afikomen
The Third Cup - the Cup of Redemption
This is the Cup of
Redemption, symbolizing the blood of the Passover lamb.
Yeshua the Messiah
lifted the cup, saying…
“This cup is the new covenant
in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20)
Yeshua also said… “I tell you, I will not drink
of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I
drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29)
Just as the blood of the
lamb brought salvation in Egypt, so Messiah’s atoning death can
bring salvation to all who believe in Him.
Elijah - the Prophet
This extra cup on the
table is for Elijah the Prophet, Eliyahu Ha Navi.
Kara Jane & Mary go to the door to see if Elijah the Prophet is
there
“See, I will send
you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the
Lord comes.” (Malachi 4:5)
Ali & Savanna enjoy the final part of the Seder
The Fourth Cup - the Cup of Praise
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and His love
endures forever.
Everyone drinks the fourth and final cup of Passover
Our Passover Seder is
now complete, just as our redemption is forever complete.